Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR STUDENT USE
Handout 1 – Close Reading Seminar: Prior knowledge survey
Please fill in the following form as accurately as you can. You will be able to see
where you need to learn more terminology before undertaking the close-reading
activity.
TERM
DEFINITION
EFFECT
Mise-en-scene
Montage
Parallel action
Compression of
time
Expansion of time
Turning points
Plot
Sub-plot
Three act structure
Flash back
Pull focus
1
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR STUDENT USE
TERM
DEFINITION
EFFECT
White balance
Iris
Shallow focus
Wide angle
Telephoto
Master shot
Cut
Wipe
Dissolve
Jump-cut
Decoupage
Cross-cutting
Fade
2
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR STUDENT USE
TERM
DEFINITION
EFFECT
Close-up
Mid-shot
Long-shot
Head room
Looking room
Extreme close-up
Diegetic sound
Non-diegetic sound
Lighting
3
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR STUDENT USE
Handout 2 – Close Reading Seminar: Terminology flash cards
NARRATIVE
TERM
Mise-enscene
DEFINITION
EFFECT
Literally translated as “what’s
put into the scene”, this is how
the director expresses the
artistic “look” or “feel” of a
scene.
Main way of delivering narrative
meaning in films.
Properties include camera
work, shot content, production
design, direction of the actors
and set design.
Montage
An artistic device for creating
the artistic "look" or "feel" of a
scene, through the use of
visual editing.
Emphasises dynamic
relationships between shots to
create ideas not present in
either.
A series of shots that creates
meaning by the way that they
relate to each other in their
order.
Parallel
action
Compression
of time
Cutting between two events
that are taking place at the
same time but in different
places.
Foregrounding a turning point in
the film by connecting events.
Where the film takes place
faster in real time.
Boring bits are shortened /
compressed; keeps audience
involved.
4
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR STUDENT USE
Where the film takes place
slower than real time.
To extend exciting events.
Turning
points
Key events in films where the
stories move forward in a
different direction.
Ensures momentum of
storyline, changes outcome of
a situation, and / or character
changes – grows/ becomes
wiser.
Plot
The main storyline in a film,
dealing with the action.
Provides a structure for the
narrative / theme.
Sub-plot
The relationship plot that
carries the theme.
Provides information needed to
fully understand the intended
meaning of the text.
Expansion of
time
5
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR STUDENT USE
Three act
structure
Flash back
Classic Hollywood structure
with 3 main acts divided by
turning points:
 exposition
 complication
 climax
followed by an ending
[denouement]
The narrative is played out
within a cause and effect
framework. Close ending is
common
Where events from the past
are interwoven into the
present.
To fill in the gaps in the
narrative / storyline.
6
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR STUDENT USE
Handout 3 – Close Reading Seminar: Terminology flash cards
CAMERA
TERM
Pull focus
Shallow
focus
Iris
Wide angle
DEFINITION
EFFECT/PURPOSE
Where the focus shifts from
one part of the shot to another.
To emphasise / draw attention
to one element over another.
To pullout information in
otherwise crowded shots.
Where part of the shot is out of
focus.
Eye directed to meaning of the
shot.
The amount of light let into the
lens.
Gives mood and atmosphere to
a shot through light.
Zoomed out gives the shot a
Exaggerates the distance
large depth of field where
between the foreground and
foreground and background are background planes.
in focus. The distance between
the foreground and background
seem large.
Telephoto
Zoomed in – gives shot a
shallower focal depth and
flattens the image.
Makes distant objects /
characters appear close to the
foreground.
Master shot
The shot that shows most or all
of a scene. Often used at the
beginning and end of scenes.
Shows the spatial relationship
between the main characters,
objects and setting in a scene.
7
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR STUDENT USE
Handout 4 – Close Reading Seminar: Terminology flash cards
SHOT SIZES
TERM
DEFINTION
EFFECT
Shows enlarged detail of
subject or an object.
Focus on the reaction of
usually a protagonist to an
event.
Contains almost, no
background but focuses on the
whole of an object or person’s
face.
To isolate object / protagonist
from its surroundings. Used to
show emotion or draw attention
to information.
Mid-shot
Figures in the frame are only
seen from the waist up.
Provides detail while providing
some contextual information.
Long-shot
Shows the full figure of the
subject.
Gives an indication of the depth
of distance – allowing the
audience to gauge the size of
the object or figure.
Contains a lot of the landscape
and helps establish the location
and likely atmosphere of that
part of the film.
Establishes location and
atmosphere.
Extreme
close-up
Close-up
Wide-shot
8
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR STUDENT USE
Handout 5 – Close Reading Seminar: Terminology flash cards
CAMERA MOVEMENT
TERM
Pan
Tilt
Crane
Track
Zoom
DEFINITION
EFFECT/PURPOSE
Camera pivots from left to right
or right to left or up and down
either from object to object or
following a figure or object.
Often used in conjunction with
an establishing shot to suggest
vastness or sweep of a scene.
Camera is tilted upon down or
on an angle.
Used to suggest a reaction to a
scene or object usually
involving strangeness,
imbalance, tension or the
unexpected.
An image depicting the subject
from overhead, usually with the
camera mounted on a
mechanical crane.
A means of moving the camera
and changes the point of view –
the camera becomes the eye of
the narrator.
When the camera moves with
the subject.
To suggest that the viewer is
sharing in the movement or
journey of the object or figure in
the frame.
The movement of the image
according to the focal
adjustments of the lens. Can
enlarge or minimise the image
/ object.
Alters the distance of images
emphasising or minimising their
importance, or can add pace
and bring movement to a shot.
9
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR STUDENT USE
Handout 6 – Close Reading Seminar: Terminology flash cards
CAMERA ANGLES
TERM
DEFINITION
EFFECT/PURPOSE
Shot taken when the camera is
above and looking down on the
scene or object but directly
overhead.
To make the object or figure
look small and lacking in power
suggesting insignificance or
vulnerability of the object or
figure.
Low
Shot taken when the camera is
below or looking up at the
object or figure.
To make the object or figure
look large and powerful
suggesting the dominance or
power of the object
Dutched
The camera is tilted on its side
so that the subject appears on
an angle on screen.
To create the sensation of
confusion and disorientation.
High
10
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR STUDENT USE
Handout 7 – Close Reading Seminar: Terminology flash cards
EDITING
TERM
DEFINITION
EFFECT/PURPOSE
Cut
When one shot replaces
another on screen.
Adds pace and/or change in
setting/ time / place.
Wipe
Where one shot ‘pushes’
another shot off screen.
Usually used to suggest a shift
in place and/or time.
Dissolve
Where one shot disappears as
another shot appears over the
top.
Usually suggests a shift in time
and/or place.
Jump-cut
Where the edits are noticeably
jarring to watch.
Keeps the figures constant and
changes the background or
keeps the background constant
and changes the figures.
Decoupage
Classic style of editing that is
‘seamless’, not intended to be
noticed by the viewer.
Ensures continuity of storyline.
Cutting back and forth between
Helps understanding of
meaning of conversation /
action.
Cross-cutting two shots, such as in a
conversation.
Fade
Where either a shot appears
out of colour [fade in] or
disappears into colour [fade
out].
Signifies closure of scene.
11
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR STUDENT USE
Handout 8 – Close Reading Seminar: Terminology flash cards
COMPOSITION
TERM
DEFINITION
EFFECT/PURPOSE
The space above the head in
shots.
Provides balance.
The space in front of a
way they face.
Framing controls the distance,
angle and height of vantage
point of reference for viewer.
Sound that exist in the world of
the film.
Adds to the reality of the scene
/ action etc.
Non-diegetic
sound
Sound/ music added to create
mood and feeling appropriate
to the intended meaning of the
scene.
E.g. high pitched violin music to
signify danger – as in the
shower scene in Psycho.
Provides a major way for the
plot to manipulate our grasp of
story events.
Lighting
Low/high, key, backlighting,
filters, ambient.
Create mood and feeling to
ensure understanding of the
meaning of the shot is clear.
Head room
Looking room character, dependent on the
Diegetic
sound
12
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR TEACHER USE
Handout 9 – Close Reading Seminar: Telephone Whispers
Adapted from:
Effective Literacy Strategies – A guide for teachers
Learning Media, Ministry of Education.
Telephone Whispers
The students work in groups of four. One student writes a definition for a given term, and then the other student, who has not seen
the original term writes a term that fits the definition.
Purpose of the strategy
This strategy gives the students the opportunity to recall, then write, their own definition of a term and to see how well their
definition conveys the intended word to another student. It gives teachers the opportunity to assess their students understanding of
key terms.
What the teacher does:

Prepare four charts, see below, in the first column of each chart write a different list of key terms.

Give each member of the group a copy of the four charts. After writing their definitions in the second column, each student
folds the paper between the first and second columns and passes the page onto the next student.

The next student fills in the third term column, folds the page again and passes it to the next student until all columns have
been completed.

When the four pages are opened up, the students can check whether the words and definitions are similar and discuss any
anomalies.
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
13
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR STUDENTUSE
Telephone Whispers chart
TERMS
DEFINTION
TERM
DEFINTION
TERM
Key term
e.g.
Jump cut
Key term
Key term
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
14
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR STUDENTUSE
Handout 10 – Close Reading Seminar: Mix and Match exercise
The teacher makes a copy of the following terms – cut - divide the class into two’s or
three’s - give each group one sheet of terms to place in the correct order.
The purpose is re-testing their understanding of terms commonly used in the close
reading of film texts. The students could also have to explain the effect or purpose
commonly associated with the term - for example, a low angle shot of a person gives
a sense of power or strength to that subject.
NARRATIVE Terminology mix and match cards
TERM
DEFINITION
Mise-en-scene
The main storyline in a film, dealing with
the action.
Montage
Where the film takes place faster in real
time.
Parallel action
Where the film takes place slower than
real time.
Compression of time
A series of shots that creates meaning by
the way that they relate to each other in
their order.
Expansion of time
Literally translated as “what’s put into the
scene”, this is how the director expresses
the artistic “look” or “feel” of a scene.
Properties include camera work, shot
content, production design, direction of
the actors and set design.
15
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR STUDENTUSE
Turning points
Cutting between two events that are
taking place at the same time but in
different places.
Plot
Key events in films where the stories
move forward in a different direction.
Sub-plot
Three act structure
Flash back
Classic Hollywood structure with 3 main
acts divided by turning points:
 exposition
 complication
 climax
followed by an ending (denouncement).
The relationship plot that carries the
theme.
Where events from the past are
interwoven into the present.
16
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR TEACHER USE
Handout 11 – Close Reading Seminar: Co-operative close reading
Questioning
A cooperative close reading square
To help students understand how films are constructed.
Purpose
Students practice verbal / oral delivery.
The cooperative reading square strategy helps students to work together and to
assess and value the contribution of others as they engage with the text in a fourstep process
Step 1.
Questioning - monitoring understanding
Step 2.
Identifying key terms and ideas - interacting with the text
Step 3.
Summarising purpose and effect of term - recording
Step 4.
Presenting ideas orally - communicating
What the teacher does
Select a text. This could be a short film, an advertisement, or a sequence from a
feature film. It should be reasonably short and at a close reading level that matches
the student’s ability.
Divide the students into groups of four and give each group a copy of the text to
“read”. Explain the four tasks and associated subtasks. Each group member is
responsible for one of the tasks.
Go through the four tasks (questioning, identifying key terms and ideas,
summarising, and presenting ideas orally) with the whole class. The communication
skills of the oral presentation can also be peer compared.
After the group activity, use the examples from different groups to discuss such
questions as:




‘What film techniques helped you to understand the film?’
‘What film techniques did your group select and why?’
‘What did your group decide was the main idea?’
‘How is the tone / mood created within the text?’
17
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR TEACHER USE
Handout 12 – Close Reading Seminar:
Prompts to elicit student response
Example:
The student says “The director uses a close-up here to show the boy’s emotions…”
Teacher response:

What is that emotion?

Why is he showing that?

How does the selection of the close-up work to do this?

How does it relate to the previous emotional state?

How is it relevant to the scene?

How does this shot relate to the one before/after it?

How does this effect work with other visual/aural elements?

How is this feature used in other parts of the scene? Is it for the same
purpose?
18
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR TEACHER USE
Handout 13 – Close Reading Seminar:
O Tamaiti: Opening scene model answer
You need to comment on:
Reason for selection.
 Briefly describe the scene.
 How does it fit into the film as a whole?
 Why did it appeal to you?
I have chosen this short film as it provides a haunting insight into the experiences of
children in an adult world, it tells a story of loss through the eyes of an eleven year
old.
The film tracks 11 year Tino, the eldest of five children from a Samoan family, in his
role as guardian and protector to his younger siblings.
I have chosen the opening sequence to close read as it establishes the harsh reality
of the burden of responsibility shouldered by Tino with the arrival of yet another new
baby, bringing Tino’s bearing of adult responsibilities into sharper focus.
The fact that that the film was shot in black and white appealed as it takes the viewer
much closer to the subject, closer to the truth of the children’s experience without the
distraction of colour.
Genre / atmosphere.
 What is the tone?
 Mood of the scene?
 How is it created?
The weight of Tino’s role as caregiver is captured through the use of; sound, mis-enscene and Point of View (POV) shots. The POV shots are an important device in O
Tamaiti as the camera is positioned at the eye level of a child and in doing so
contributes to creating a child like perspective of the world. The filmmaker to create
an atmosphere of unfriendliness and a lack of empathy for Tino in the adult world
uses sound. This feeling is shaped by the echoing of Tino’s footsteps, the loud
banging of doors, the use of silence interspersed with the low threatening musical
composition creates a sombre mood against which the narrative unfolds from Tino’s
POV. The focus of the Mis-en-scene is on creating a reality of a Samoan child’s
world as an immigrant family.
We are introduced into Tino’s world as the camera tracks him walking hesitantly
down a silent, empty hospital corridor toward a coke dispenser. The camera cuts to
an extreme high angled close-up of the machine that renders it an interesting, novel
and seductive object to a new migrant. Tino places the money in the coin slot and
the camera cuts to a partially shown white-coated medical staff member (who is
framed from Tino’s POV) brushing past and ignoring him. The visual decapitation of
the adult and the sound of the swinging doors create a threatening atmosphere.
19
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR TEACHER USE
The mood changes when the camera tracks Tino walking back to his siblings who
wait obediently for his return; an extreme long shot frames the children in the hallway
which emphasises their vulnerability and their lonely world which the children endure
in silence. They are seen and not heard. Next a series of POV shots from Tino’s
perspective are inter-cut with tight close-up shots of his siblings as he dutifully
passes the drink from one sibling to the next. This allows us to meet Tino’s charges
and understand his role as caregiver.
Tino and his siblings are always positioned in the foreground of shots to highlight his
responsibility and the burden from a child’s POV. The tight framing of the children
sitting on the hallway form shows how the children occupy their own world within the
world of the adults. Tino’s display of love and patience towards his siblings and their
respect for his authority highlights the reality of his role. The silence of the adult
world is momentarily broken when his youngest charge cries out in hunger; Tino
automatically cradles and feeds the child. The only sounds we hear are diegetic,
focusing on the reality of the children’s experience.
Suddenly, ironically the silence of the children’s world is shattered by the adult world,
with the piercing cries of the mother giving birth. The camera cuts from the children,
to where the cries emanate, to the end of the darkened corridor, to a reaction shot
from the children, to an outline of the father who appears in shadow at the hospital
doors telling the children to “come and see the new baby”. The command is
authoritative and impersonal. The feeling of Tino’s burden and lack of
acknowledgement of his role by the adult world is carried through the film by the use
of the lowered camera. This creates a parallel-opposing, separate world in which
both factions dwell and one that the adult world seldom acknowledges.
You should be able to make a comment on the following headings and how they
create meaning in the scene – what can we read from what we see and hear, using
‘film terminology’?
Mis-en-scene / composition.
Framing / Composition
1. Camera position/ angles/ shots. A possible response: Camera position
Achievement
The dominance of the lowered camera position allows the audience to focus
on the children’s experience of their world. The children are mostly shot in the
foreground of shots with the adults often shown in the background. [2
examples: white coated medical staff partially shown; father appears in the
shadow in the hospital doors]
Achievement with Merit
Above plus; the visual decapitation of moving adults prioritises the children’s
view of their world. Serving to reinforce viewer identification with the children’s
POV. [White coated medical staff member, father in shadow]
20
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR TEACHER USE
Achievement with Excellence
As above plus; the children are often shown at the foreground of many shots,
this is contrasted with how the adults are shown usually in the background or
out of the shot. The adult’s presence is often constructed through the sound
of their voices. These techniques work to highlight the difference between an
adult and child’s experience of the world. (The swinging doors; father calling
the children to see the new baby.)
2. Shot size / angle + camera movement.
High angle / close-ups
Achievement
Close-up shots of Tino, his siblings and objects he encounters as the coke
dispenser machine. The CU shots are used to highlight the reality of Tino’s
role as caregiver. Passing drink from one sibling to another, Tino at the coke
dispenser machine. Extreme close-ups render common objects as interesting
and alienating. [Coke dispenser; swinging hospital doors]
Achievement with Merit
As above plus; as they must be for a child of a new immigrant family as they
encounter the seductions of the West (2 examples).
Achievement with Excellence
As above plus; close-up used in conjunction with high angled shots helps us
to empathise with Tino’s experience of the hostile adult hospital environment.
(2 examples)
3. Sound
Achievement
Both diegetic and non-diegetic sound are used in this scene; Tino’s echoing
footsteps, the loud banging of the doors, low menacing music (at the
beginning of the scene) creates a feeling of alienation and coldness.
Achievement with Merit
As above plus - Dialogue is kept to the minimum defining the gulf between the
child’s world and the adults’ world. The story is told through the mechanical
actions of responsibility. (2 examples provided – silence of the children, father
calling out to the children)
Achievement with Excellence
As above plus - It is the noises and voices of the adult world that often
dominate. What we hear creates a major role in creating our impressions of
the adults and their impact on the children in the film; we hear their noise and
the effect on the children’s through POV close-up reaction shots capturing the
alienating effect of the sounds. (2examples provided)
21
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR STUDENT USE
Handout 14 – Close Reading Seminar:
Student task sheet - Avondale Dogs: Pigeon shooting scene
You need to comment on:
Reason for selection.
 Briefly describe the scene.
 How does it fit into the film as a whole?
 Why did it appeal to you?
Genre / atmosphere.
 What is the tone?
 Mood of the scene?
 How is it created?
Choose 3 ‘mood’ words (e.g. Excitement, tension, panic, etc.) and explain how the
mood of the scene changes. What do we see and hear that suggests this change?
1.
2.
3.
22
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR STUDENT USE
You should be able to make a comment on the following headings and how
they create meaning in the scene – what can we read from what we see and
hear, using ‘film terminology’?
The first one has been done for you, showing three levels of response.
1. Shot size/angle + Camera movement.
Close-ups:
A:
Are used to focus the viewer on the tension on the boys’ faces (2 examples:
Paul takes a sneaky look at his dad washing the car before firing the gun.
Paul looks panicked and shrinks into the foliage after killing the pigeon.)
M:
The close up tightens through the sequence to heighten the panic ([illustrated
with examples.)
E:
They contrast with other shots in the sequence and bring our focus on the
boys as the subject of the scene. Used in conjunction with shaky hand-heldlike shots (shot with a long lens) the sense of us (the viewer) sneaking a look
at these hidden boys also helps build the tension of their actions.
2. Mis-en-scene/composition.
3. Transitions + Length of takes.
23
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR STUDENT USE
4. Sound.
24
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR STUDENT USE
Handout 15 – Close Reading Seminar:
Answers for Handout 14 – Student task sheet
Avondale Dogs: Pigeon shooting scene
90277 Model response for assessment task
You need to comment on:
Reason for selection.
 Briefly describe the scene.
 How does it fit into the film as a whole?
 Why did it appeal to you?
I have chosen this short film as it has a strong emotional impact in looking at the
relationship of a young boy [Paul] and his mother, who is dying of cancer. The
film focuses on his attempt to come to terms with this tragedy.
The ‘pigeon shooting’ sequence takes place near the beginning of the film and
establishes the idea of sub-conscious guilt the Paul feels for his mother’s illness.
Paul’s ‘accidental’ killing of the pigeon also suggests the helplessness he feels
about events in his life. It is the first ‘death’ and foreshadows the end of the film. It
also introduces Glenys, the girl that lives next door, and who will be supportive at
the resolution.
Genre / atmosphere.
 What is the tone?
 Mood of the scene?
 How is it created?
Choose 3 ‘mood’ words (e.g. Excitement, tension, panic, etc.) and explain how the
mood of the scene changes. What do we see and hear that suggests this change?
The feeling of this scene starts with excitement as the boys have typical
adventure by ‘borrowing’ the gun and having pot-shots at the pigeons on the
neighbour’s roof. The mood of adventure and secretive behaviour is captured by
the tight framing and shallow focus through the chain-link fence. The jerky
camera suggests hand-held filming, as if we are witnesses to what these boys
are up to. The appearance of Glynis is spotted by one of Paul’s friends and the
crash zoom foreshadows the tension that is about to come.
The mood changes when Paul shoots the bird. This change is signalled by the
‘freezing’ of the moment as the sound stops and the focus pulls on the gun barrel.
After that, the feeling is one of panic. It is as if the camera shows Paul’s fear. The
edits are faster and the movement more frenetic. The point of view shots from
Paul are intercut with tight close-ups of his panicking face, carefully framed by
jagged shapes of iron and plants, all helping to build the tension. The fact that the
sound of cicadas drown out the concern of Glynis and her mum also locates the
story with Paul.
25
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR STUDENT USE
At the end the absence of the father and the hose left going in the reveal shot
gives a sense of foreboding for Paul: has the father found out about the pigeon?
Of course, the illness of the mother is much more concerning but because it is
really Paul’s story, we are concerned for him.
You should be able to make a comment on the following headings and how
they create meaning in the scene – what can we read from what we see and
hear, using ‘film terminology’?
The first one has been done for you, showing three levels of response.
1. Shot size/angle + Camera movement.
A possible response
Close-ups:
Achievement
are used to focus the viewer on the tension on the boys’ faces [2 examples:
Paul takes a sneaky look at his dad washing the car before firing the gun.
Paul looks panicked and shrinks into the foliage after killing the pigeon]
Achievement with Merit
the close up tightens through the sequence to heighten the panic – [illustrated
with examples]
Achievement with Excellence
they contrast with other shots in the sequence and focuses us on the boys as
the subject of the scene. Used in conjunction with shaky hand-held-like shots
(shot with a long lens) the sense of us (the viewer) sneaking a look at these
hidden boys also helps build the tension of their actions.
2. Mis-en-scene/composition.
Framing/Composition
Achievement
is carefully used to isolate figures in the shots, particularly Paul [2 examples].
Achievement with Merit
the cameraman uses natural objects to draw our eye to the subject, such as
rusty iron in the shape of a cross, foliage and the out-of-focus fence.
Achievement with Excellence
The use of this framing gives the idea that the boys are hidden and doing
something naughty (as we associate hiding with this idea). The shallow focus
also helps draw our eye to the subject.
26
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR STUDENT USE
3. Transitions + Length of takes.
Pace
Achievement
Near the end of the sequence, as the pigeon gets shot, the cuts and
movement become faster to create the sense of panic.
Achievement with Merit
The editing is hard cuts and cuts between Paul, the bird and Glynis to show
us that Paul is worried because his friend has found the dead bird and is
about to tell her mum. The pace of edits helps convey this.
Achievement with Excellence
The editor uses jump-cuts and so it challenges our watching, making what we
see less comfortable. This is appropriate to the content/mood of this moment.
4. Sound.
Diegetic Sound
Achievement
There is only diegetic sound in this scene, the boys talking, the radio and
cicadas. It makes it feel like summer.
Achievement with Merit
The lack of atmospheric music works well in this scene, making it seem more
‘real’. There are adjustments in volume to focus our attention on what’s going
on.
Achievement with Excellence
The use of natural sounds also seem to be ‘located’ in Paul. We hear the
racing commentary from his dad’s radio immediately before cutting to Paul’s
POV of his dad washing the car. When he fires the gun, all sound stops, as if
time has stopped for him, just before panic sets in. The cicadas become
louder, deafening the cries of Glynis.
Some of the shots from this scene are shown on the Handout 16 - Avondale Dogs:
Stills taken from the pigeon scene. For each of these answers, the understanding
shown in the responses relates to the criteria set out in the standard (90277) itself.
Achieved
Describe, using appropriate terminology, how each example adds meaning to the
scene.
Merit
Explain why these examples are effective in creating meaning.
Excellence
Analyse how these examples relate to the genre/atmosphere of the scene; or are
used in combination with other techniques to shape the viewers’ emotional response;
or relate to the film as a whole; or other external factors such as the style of the
director.
27
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR STUDENT USE
Handout 16 – Close Reading Seminar: Avondale Dogs stills taken from the pigeon-shooting scene
1.
2.
3.
4.
28
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR STUDENT USE
5.
6.
7.
8.
29
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR STUDENT USE
9.
10.
11.
12.
30
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR STUDENT USE
13.
14.
15.
16.
31
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier
Media Studies Beacon Practice resource material
PAGE FOR TEACHER USE
32
© Crown 2007
Tom Hunter – Karamu High School, Hastings
Louise MacFarlane – Colenso High School, Napier